the phoenix
by can you not
Summary: And because of him, she died over and over again. / sasuhina, one-shot.


**title: the phoenix**

**number of words: 1,096**

**genre: romance/hurt/comfort (?)**

**a/n: blame rezonate - the phoenix for this one. and you should listen to the song while reading. one of my favorite electronica producers. =) **

* * *

the phoenix

X

_for you_

He stared in shock as the white-eyed, indigo-haired girl fell on the ground, pools of blood gushing out of the open wounds on her abdomen and arms. Her face, paler than usual, seemed almost ghostly, her lips thin and dry, and her body lifeless.

When she fell, there was a _thump_. And he flinched.

"No."

Her eyes were closed-

"No, please…"

-they didn't open again.

X

She woke up in a hospital. The horrible smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils and it made her want to gag. She may have worked in a hospital, but being in one as a _patient_ was a completely different thing. She examined the bandages on her arm, tightly wrapped around the surely bruised and scarred skin. Her curious eyes traveled downward, to her stomach, also covered in thick, white cloth. She lightly touched it and winced in sudden pain. That must've been a horrible wound, if it still hurt from barely a touch.

_How did I get here_?, she wondered, looking around for any sight of explanation. There were bouquets of flowers on a small table underneath the window, tulips and roses and orchids. It made the corners of her lips twitch, but she couldn't form a full-beam smile. She didn't have the strength.

Then, someone entered her room.

Sakura.

"Hello."

Her head snapped, rather painfully, to the pinkette dressed in a typical medical nin uniform. "H-hello." Her stutter was still there.

Sakura smiled brightly at her. "How are you feeling?"

Her patient just nodded. "I-I've been better."

Sakura approached her bed and started examining her wounds and changing the bandages.

"S-so… can you t-tell me what happened?"

She feared the answer.

A sigh. "Well," she hesitated. "it's difficult to explain."

Oh.

"You sort of died."

_Oh._

X

Now, she remembered. The piercing white clouding her vision.

The numbness in her limbs.

The ethereal feeling of being… _empty_.

But what brought her back?

X

She didn't know.

"We brought you to the hospital as soon as we could. Naruto was, well, best way put, having a panic attack. _They _attacked you," by _they_ she meant the enemy ninja, "and he couldn't be there in time to help."

Hinata listened quietly, waiting for her to get to the part where she was _injured_. "When he got there, well from what he told me I understood you put up a fight, but they outnumbered you." She stopped. "You lost a lot of blood. Fell unconscious right before his eyes."

The Hyuuga didn't even flinch at the words. "Is N-Naruto-kun… okay?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So typical of you… to put everyone else before yourself." She smiled softly at the girl. "He's alright. Sort of pissed, I assume."

"W-why?"

"Because it wasn't him who saved you."

Now Hinata really started paying attention.

"T-then who?"

Sakura's eyes hardened for a split second and she frowned in thought. "Sasuke-kun."

X

_i'd do_

She met him at the training grounds. He was severely beating the crap out of an unfortunate log, like it was his worst enemy.

"S-Sasuke."

They – well, _she_, since he didn't bother with them anyway – dropped the honorifics months ago, when this weird little thing that couldn't really be called a 'relationship' started. She approached him timidly, fearing his reaction while in this state.

"You almost died." His voice was cold and emotionless.

(But she knew better.)

"Y-yes."

"I almost lost you."

He delivered another punch to the shattered log. If it were a living object, it'd probably be screaming in pain, and a part of Sasuke wished it _did_. His sharingan activated, his aura deadly, he turned slowly to the object of his deepest, most secret desires and gave her his deadliest glare.

"Don't ever-"

One step forwards.

"-ever-"

One step backwards.

"-do that again."

He stood in front of her, his hard frame a lot taller than her curvaceous one. She was trembling – in fear or anticipation she wasn't sure – as his fingers, his bloodied knuckles, brushed against the soft skin of her cheeks, smearing the crimson liquid over it.

"Do you understand," he started again, his voice low and menacing. "how horrible I felt? This isn't even the _first fucking time_."

She shuddered. He was correct.

Almost every time they went on a mission, she somehow ended up unconscious and almost _dead_ and he'd always screw up and lose his temper and kill _everyone_ on his path and heck he'd probably even behead fucking _Naruto _if the kyuubi vessel wasn't strong enough to restrain him.

"I-I'm sorry." She whispered, finally breaking their eye contact to look down to the ground in shame. "I'm too weak."

"Yeah." But he smiled – _only slightly_ – while she wasn't looking. "We should work on that."

X

_anything_

Her natural, ever-present blush only intensified as he trapped her between the wall and his own muscled chest. His fingers raked through her dark royal purple hair, tilting her head in a comfortable angle so he could kiss her cheeks, the corners of her mouth and finally her lips, enjoying her sweet taste – probably the only sweet thing he'd _ever_ enjoy – never getting enough of her.

He pressed flush against her body, licking her bottom lip to make her open her mouth and invite his tongue in. He explored the insides of her mouth, losing himself in her warmth, liking the small squeaks she made when his hand slid underneath her over-sized sweater to stroke her flat stomach.

She was so warm.

So soft.

And-

(he was never really good with words)

Her response to his kisses was addicting – her arms wrapped themselves around his neck, her legs hiked up around his waist.

-only his.

He glided his hands lower, underneath her bottom to lift her up and carry her to his bedroom. When he plopped her on the bed and covered her with his weight, careful not to crush her, he connected their foreheads and gave her one of his private smiles and eyes full of emotion, without a single wall in front of them.

"I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear and continued kissing her.

As they shredded clothing and explored each other's bodies – and it felt just as magnificent as every other time they did this – he repeated the same sentence in his mind, over and over. A mantra. A prayer.

"I'm sorry I can't save you."

X

She will die again.

He _will_ screw up _again_.

But it was something they were used to, anyway.

X

**fin**


End file.
